Check then Recheck

as Queenie Shambala came full steam thru the door of the ultra sound lab she caught a glimpse of Natalynn Winningway on the ultrasound table

the tech was moving the ultrasound wand slowly over her swollen abdomen

Natalynn looked calm and seemingly out of touch with the procedureit was something she'd had to do so often during a pregnancy and she was mostly detached from the results

in fact Natalynn had to have many more tests and procedures then most pregnant women on the Rez

Natalynn and women like her were the reason Queenie was doctoring here
she had applied and reapplied for 3 years for a post on this particular Rez
Natalynn and her husband Joseph and their families were part of a multi-gene cleaning experiment created by the governmentthru the discoveries made in genetic engineering medical science was trying to find ways to eliminate all gene linked diseases which so ravaged all Native American tribes

oh that sounded so altruistic didn't it

no more babies with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome because the native women wouldn't be drinking out on the edge of the Rez by the time they where 12

"what's up" Queenie asked

the tech stared up at Queenie with a perplexed look

"i can't find it now" she saidNatalynn lifted out of her revelry and turned her head toward the screen and as per usual this early in the pregnancy she couldn't make head or tail of it, Queenie noticed and said "another perfectly normal pregnancy Natalynn you can get dressed now"

a slightly embarrassed look crossed the tech's face she turned to Queenie who motioned her to stop the scan and waited for Natalynn to leave the room
"what did you see" she asked the tech
"i'm not sure" as she brought up the video playback "see right there" the babys back flipped into sight and a slight almost imperceptable shadow raised from the scapular areas on both sides she backed up the video and reran the event
Queenie looked carefully at the picture

"she's 14 weeks now right"
"yes" the tech said
"what was your impression ?" Queenie asked
"it looked like some kind of possible abnormal growths to me but it came and went so quickly that i didn't form a definate opinion but i thought you should see it right away"

Queenie's brow furrowed but she didn't get that feeling that something in the pregnancy had gone wrong
"thanks for the "heads up" we"ll recheck that angle again next time she comes in"
and Natalynn's ultra sound was shelved until her next visit

Natalynn was in a hurry to get home

her son Michael was going to be a dancer in the Pow Wow later that month and there was still so much sewing to do on his dancing attire

she felt so well this pregnancy ,more energized than she'd been ever with Michael she was sure she would have a girl, the older women of the tribe had predicted itA child of such stature and significance that many would know the truth of the creator's plan for her tribe

Such an auspicious prediction had not been given to the brith of a child in a very long time in her tribeher emotions were buoyed up by it

*"yes" she thought "this will be a remarkable child"

"a child to change the destiny of her nation"

such an absurd thought in a primitive young womans head

aren't all happy pregnant young woman holding these dreams of their child's greatness

the poem by Louise Erdlich
Rez Litany
Let us pray to those beatified
within the Holy Colonial Church
beginning with Saint Assimulus
patron of residential and government
boarding schools..whose skin was dark
but miraculously bled white milk for all to drink
~~~~~
To cure the gut ache that resulted
as 90% of Native American children are
lastose intolerant...
let us now pray to the patron saint
of the Indian Health Services
who is also the guardian of slot machines
~~~~~
Our Lady of Luck
she who carries in one hand mistaken blood tests
and botched surgeries...and in the other hand
the heart of a courageous doctor squeezed dry
~~~~~
let us pray for the scared hearts of all good doctors
and nurses....whose tasks are made manifold and more difficult
by the twin saints of commodity food
Saint Bloatinus and Saint Cholestrus
who were martyred at the stake of body fat
and who now reside in heaven
at the gates of the Grand Casino Buffet
~~~~~
Saint Macaronia and Saint Diabetia hear our prayer
it is terrible to be diminished toe by toe
good Saint Pyromane
enemy of the BIA
deliver us from those who seek to bury us
in files and triplicate documents and directives
Saint Quantum...Martyr of Blood
and Holy Protector of the Tribal Rolls
assist us in the final shredding which shall proceed
on the Day of Judgement so we may all rain down
in a blizzard of bum pull tabs
and unchosen lottery tickets which represent
the souls of the faithfully departed
in your name
~~~~~
your name written in original fire
we mistook long ago for trader's rum
pray for us...all you saints of white port
four roses old grandad and night train
good Saint Bingeous who fell asleep upside down on the cross
and rose on the third day without even knowing he had died
Saint Odium of the hundred-proof blood
and Saint Tremens of the great pagan spiders
dripping from the light fixtures
~~~~~
you powerful triumvirate intercede for us
drunks stalled in bars
float our asses off cracked stools
and over to college
where the true saints are ready to sacrifice their brain cells
in for our brain cells in that holy exchange which is called learning
~~~~~
Saint Microcephalia...patron of huffers and dusters
you of the cooked brain and mean capacity you
of the simian palm line and poor impulse control
you of the Lysol soaked bread...you sleeping with dogs
underneathed the house hear our prayers
which we utter backwards and sideways
as nothing makes sense
least of all your Abstinence Campaigns
from which Oh Lord Deliver Us
Saint Primapara..gravida...Humpeninabackseat
you patrons of unsafe teenage sex
and fourteen year old mothers
pray for us now and at the hour of our birth ...
amen